To Mr. Bezos: Please Consider Chattanooga for HQ2!

Dear Jeff,

Super excited that you are going to open the second Amazon headquarters!

I know this is a new project for you guys, so I’ll keep it brief and follow Amazon new project protocol. Below is the press release for when you announce Chattanooga, TN as the location for Amazon HQ2 below:

Amazon Opens Second Headquarters in Chattanooga, TN– The City With The Country’s Fastest Internet and Rated Best Outdoor Town

New headquarters will bring 50,000 employees, attracting talent from across the East Coast, Southeast and Midwest.

Amazon unveils $5 billion new headquarter design plans for Amazon HQ2 in the South’s “Scenic City” that is equal parts modern and beautiful

SEATTLE — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Sep. 7, 2018 — (NASDAQ: AMZN) — Amazon today announced plans to open Amazon HQ2, a second company headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee after a year long search. Amazon expects to invest over $5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. In addition to Amazon’s direct hiring and investment, construction and ongoing operation of Amazon HQ2 is expected to create tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in Chattanooga as well as the surrounding metro areas.

Amazon decided to open the second headquarters in Chattanooga based on several unique attributes of the city, specifically the combination of technology infrastructure, quality of living and proximity to talent across the East Coast, Southeast and Midwest. While Chattanooga’s metro population is approximately 550,000 and under the initial 1 million metro area population requirement, it is within a day’s driving distance of 50% of the United States’ population as well as major technical universities such as Duke, Georgia Tech and Carnegie Mellon.

Chattanooga Facts:

• Fastest internet in the United States with 10 gigabits to the home (https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/gv5m77/10-gbps-fiber-internet-fastest-home-internet-in-the-united-states)
• Rated as “Best Town Ever” Outside Magazine and “Best Small Outdoor Town” two years in a row due to abundance of world class outdoor activities (https://www.outsideonline.com/2008956/why-chattanooga-best-town-ever)
• Chattanooga is located within a day’s drive of 50% of the population of the United States and close to major technical universities
• Chattanooga has a great cost of living for employees who want to work at one of the world’s greatest companies and also enjoy a great lifestyle (http://www.bestplaces.net/cost_of_living/city/tennessee/chattanooga)
• Chattanooga’s focus on innovation and developing talent makes it a leader in talent development and attraction for Amazon (http://www.chainnovate.com/, http://centercentre.com/)

“After visiting many wonderful cities across America that would have made a great home for Amazon HQ2, our team fell in love with the combination of outdoor beauty, forward-thinking technology investments and the kindness of Chattanooga’s people,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “We think Chattanooga is the right choice financially for our employees as well as our business. We look forward to HQ2 being close to so many of our customers and partners. Honestly, the closer for me was all the great rock climbing and microbrews!” (note: I totally wish you would say that last line.)

Amazon is adding to its existing presence in Chattanooga, which is a distribution center it opened in 2012. The expansion of Amazon’s headquarters to the Southeast will dramatically impact the economy of the region and it’s people.

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Ok, that’s my pitch press release for HQ2 coming to Chattanooga. The really smart leaders of our community will reach out through official channels I’m sure. I really hope you’ll give us a chance, even though we’re a wee bit under the metro population requirement. Some times big ideas look small at first.

If you do visit, please come by my office so we can show you the AI’s we’re building for Alexa! My company Pylon ai, built The Bartender and Tasted skills for Alexa with a team based here in Chattanooga. Turns out, we have a lot of great startups here, many focused on transportation. And one that might change the world according to NASA. Happy to show you around and meet everyone.

Thanks for the consideration!